On the 14th, Lotte Marines pitcher Yuto Yuto Kimura (20) participated in a "gum select" event to create his own original "professional gum," customizing it by choosing his preferred gum shape, hardness, and flavor. Kimura chose stick shape, hardness, and energy flavor.

Under the supervision of Visiting Professor Tomotaka Takeda (Japan Sports Association certified sports dentist) of the Department of Oral Health Science, Sports Dentistry Laboratory, Tokyo Dental University, "Professional Gum" is provided to various athletes. Developed with the aim of supporting athletes with their "chewing power" through "chewing" during training and competition, it is characterized by its minimal change in hardness while chewing. In addition to Kimura, Mori, Kojima, Ueda, and Takabe will also be creating their own original "Professional Gum" this year.

Kimura commented through the team, "I knew that chewing power is connected to performance, but I haven't really focused on chewing training until now, so I decided to seriously work on 'chewing' from now on, and this time I thought I would train by making the gum harder. I will do my best with my original gum so that I can perform at my best from the opening day and throughout this season."